


Smashing

by BookofOdym



Category: Atom (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League of America (Comics), Justice Society of America (Comics)
Genre: Crack, M/M, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookofOdym/pseuds/BookofOdym
Summary: When Al Rothstein picks the name Atom Smasher, he doesn't realize the teasing he's in for.Or: Atom Smasher finally smashes the Atom.
Relationships: Ray Palmer/Al Rothstein
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Smashing

Al Rothstein did not regret his name; it was meaningful, it honored his dead godfather, and as far as he was concerned, it would be considered a threatening, rather well thought out superhero name in any other universe. 

The only problem was, in this universe... 

“Hey Atom Smasher, have you... _smashed_ the Atom yet?” 

Booster Gold. In Al’s opinion, he was hardly in any position to make fun of anyone’s name, given that his own made precisely zero sense. What was a Booster? Why were they separated out by colors? It made Al think of the Power Rangers for some reason, but even then... it was just a stupid name. 

“Not yet, have you fucked Blue Beetle yet?” 

Saying that was a mistake, partially because it might imply that there was more to his feelings for Ray Palmer, which... it wasn’t like the man was unattractive, or that he disliked him, it was just that he hardly knew the man. While there probably wasn’t a single person in either the JLA or the JSA who didn’t realize that there was something between Booster Gold and the second Blue Beetle. Except... 

_“We’re not gay!”_

Al flinched back a little at the intensity of the shout and then winced as the door behind them slid open. Having this conversation outside Palmer’s Hall of Justice Lab was probably the worst part of this situation. 

“What’s going on out here?” Palmer asked, sounding tired. He looked tired. “Booster, I should have known.” 

“He was just leaving,” Al informed the redhead, shoving Booster through the double doors, “more importantly, when was the last time you slept?” 

Again, that was obviously a mistake, showing any concern around idiotic eavesdropping ears, but his godfather, the first Atom, had been fond of Palmer, and Al knew that he would have wanted him to check up on Ray when he looked like this. 

“I was... what day is this?” The scientist looked confused, swaying on his feet, and Al picked him up with a sigh, with Ray not even complaining about the princess style carry. Al didn’t want to have to cart a man who was nearly a decade older than him back to his quarters, but since Palmer was apparently terrible at taking care of himself, it looked like he was going to have to. 

The trip to Palmer’s quarters, and Al only knew where they were because they had been marked on the map, was relatively uneventful. There was no one waiting in the hall to see them and spread rumors, although in hindsight, maybe that would have been preferable. At the time, though, Al only felt relief. “Palmer,” he hissed, and the older man lifted his head from Al’s shoulder for just a minute, blinking at him in confusion, “what’s the passcode?” 

“Oh Six Oh One,” the Atom murmured, face already back in Al’s shoulder because apparently, he decided that it wasn’t worth sacrificing his nap for that. Al absolutely refused to think that that was cute. He was just going to dump Ray on his bed and leave it at that. 

Practically throwing the man three meters onto his bed, Al rushed out of the door before the grunt of discomfort even reached his ears, straight into the path of Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man. He really should have expected what came next. 

By the next morning, the news that Atom Smasher had finally smashed the Atom had spread all the way through the superhero community. 

* * *

Al woke up early that morning, at about six o’clock, because his room was much, much colder than he was used to. He generally kept the window shut when he slept, but that morning, it was open wide. 

There was also a man in a hawk costume standing at the base of his bed. 

“Carter, what the fuck?!” Al hissed, drawing his blankets up higher, so they covered his bare chest. “What are you even doing here?!” He left out the ‘you freak’ that he wanted to add; he did not want to deal with the ‘Aquaman would never say freak’ lecture that was sure to follow. 

That was when he noticed the mace. 

“Carter... why are you holding that?” 

Hawkman swung his mace in a circle, in what was clearly meant to be a threat. “We need to have a talk.” He growled. 

* * *

By some miracle, by which he meant growing big and crashing through his apartment wall, Al managed to escape from Carter, aided by the last-minute arrival of Jay and Alan, who were attempting to wrestle Hawkman to the floor. 

Al kept running, he didn’t know that they would be able to keep him pinned down, and he needed to find somewhere to hide. He didn’t know how, but somehow his legs took him to Ivy Town. 

He supposed it did make some amount of sense, he was hardwired to want to be in Calvin City, and Ivy Town was right across the river from Calvin. It was just that it was the home of one Ray Palmer, the man that everyone thought that he wanted to... well... smash. If Ray had been dealing with the same thing he had this morning (which he highly doubted, because only Hawkman was like that, if Ray had to deal with anything, it would have been some mild teasing), then Al didn’t think that he really wanted to see the other man. 

Still, it was a big town, and the chances of running into him were low. 

“Al?” A voice asked, from somewhere off to the side, and Atom Smasher froze; he knew that voice. The universe apparently loved irony more than it loved giving Al Rothstein a break. “What are you doing here?” 

Palmer was in the front garden of one of the homes, which, unless Al was severely mistaken, meant that it was probably his own home. You wouldn’t think of it as the home of a superhero. It was a small home, with a beehive in one corner of the garden, away from the house, and a garden full of plants. It wasn’t the home of a superhero, but maybe one of a scientist. The man in question was tinkering with something on a table, and despite knowing it was a bad idea, Al’s curiosity led him to stroll over. 

“What are you working on? Something to let you control bees?” 

“Hm? Oh, no... that’s still of the order Hymenoptera, so I’d definitely get a cease and desist.” 

Al had no idea what that meant, but Palmer chuckled to himself, so he supposed it was some obscure reference. 

“Will, uh- Doctor Magnus, he’s the man who created the Metal Men, sent over a responsometer because he wanted to test it at a molecular level, we had a theory that-” what followed was an explanation that Al could not make heads or tales of. “By the way, Ralph wanted me to congratulate you for some reason.” 

Al squirmed a bit in place. So, he had been teased about it this morning. 

“Hal...” Palmer paused, “For some reason, he was asking about size kink, about someone growing while they were inside you. To be honest, the question was a little bit inappropriate. Not the kind of question for breakfast time.” 

“I promise you that I will clear everything up.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Ray said, sounding like he was thinking hard about something, “because he was making me a little curious about the process myself.” 

What? 

What did he just say? 

“The process?” Al squeaked. He didn’t think that his voice had ever been so high pitched in his life. 

“Obviously you don’t have to, I was just thinking... how did Ralph put it? I want you to smash me.”


End file.
